Raising Helen
by IwantShandy
Summary: A case about a young girl hits really close home for Sharon. She needs all comfort her family the Major Crimes Team and especially Andy can offer her as she struggles with her inner self and her own rules. This story also includes some major Shandy.
1. Chapter 1

Hello fellow Major Crimes Fans, just for your information. This is my first Fanfiction. I am not a very good writer, but there are so mamy ideas floating around in my head. I just have to write some of them down. I love Major Crimes and its characters and I cannot wait for season 5. I love Shandy, so this story will also contain some writing about Mr. and Mrs. Flynn (in my dreams), but it is a little hidden behind the case.

I do not own Major Crimes, I just love to use the characters, settings and stories for my own set ups.

* * *

 **Chapter 1: Sunny day in Summer June**

It was a nice and beautiful sunny day in June, after nearly two days of rain, which was very unlikely LA. Sharon Raydor woke up to the sun falling on her eyes. She remembered not closing the curtains last night as she fell exhausted on the bed and into an uneasy sleep. With her hand she searched for the body and his comforting warmth next to her, without opening her eyes. _He is supposed to be here._ Confused she opened them and looked to the other side of the bed, missing the arms that had held her through the night. Awe-strucked she realized that there was nobody there and hasn't even been there at night either. A little bit annoyed and kind of embarrassed with herself she groaned in disbelief and turned around in her bed facing her window. Her face lit up when she thought of what things and surprises this beautiful day held up for her. But then her thoughts turned to Rusty and his moving to the dorm room on the college ground. Her mind clouded with thoughts of sadness and loneliness. She would be on her own again, missing their daily routine, which had developed between them in the past five years. The mornings and the often prepared breakfasts from Rusty always lit her heart up, and she was touched by his thoughtfulness and his care for her. The evenings and the almost daily take out dinner sessions, until Andy came around. They often cooked together, that was an activity every one of them enjoyed, as long as Andy and she _behaved_ themselves, to put it in Rusty's words.

But then again her thoughts turned to Andy. Her Andy. She did love him. He made her happy. That's what Andrea, Gavin and her kids told her. But with these nice and sweet thoughts there also came some bad tastes. She depended on him, already. To make her happy, to make her feel safe, to care and to worry about her and loved. She wanted to be loved by him. She even discovered a feeling, which she hadn't known before she met him. She sometimes experienced a slight stab if any woman came up to him and tried to flirt with him. Jealousy. She has never been that jealous when something like this happened with Jack. She was hurt when she discovered his affaires and disappointed by him again. But with Andy everything was different. Also what the topic jealousy concerned, it appeared. But she knew she could trust him. She'd never thought she could trust someone like that again after the events with Jack. She needed Andy. That fact frightened her though. After the fiasco of her marriage, she swore to herself that something like that would never happen again. She didn't want to get so disappointed, verbally abused and hurt ever again. But still. Andy had gotten through most of her walls of protection and had slowly gotten very close into her heart. If she didn't think about her children of work, every other thought at day or night concerned him. She couldn't spend a night sleeping without dreaming about him. These dreams seemed so real, he hadn't even spent the night yet, and still it seemed so authentic that even when she woke up she missed his imaginary arms around her. _I am pathetic. Get your lazy ass out of that bed and stop thinking about him, Raydor. You've got your whole day to spend with him._

With a smile on her face she got up and went to the bathroom to get ready. She could hear Rusty working in the kitchen. Through her bathroom session she asked herself what Andy had up his sleeve for this beautiful day. He told her yesterday that he had something prepared for her. She didn't like surprises, but Andy seemed so excited, so she considered letting him have his fun. Pondering about her dream she wondered what he had arranged. _What shall I wear? I don't know where we are going._ She got her phone from the nightstand and dialed his number. After talking to him for about 10 minutes – he didn't really want to open up about his surprise – she settled on a nice light summer dress, that she thought Andy would appreciate, it showed just the right amount of cleavage, ended right above her knees and showed off a little bit of her legs, that she did for Andy's delight.

After getting ready she joined Rusty in the kitchen. "Morning, mom."

"Good Morning, Rusty. Thank you for preparing breakfast," Sharon said.

"Yeah, sure. Is Andy going to join us?"

"Yes, he should be here in about 15 minutes. I am going to wait for him, so that we can eat breakfast together." Sharon answered.

"Okay. Well, you are going to spend the day together, right?"Sharon nodded in agreement. "I am going to meet with Gus and I am also going to stay overnight."

Sharon inhaled, but nodded. "Alright, that's okay. Just don't forget to study and school tomorrow. "

" _Mom_! I am almost 20. I think I can handle that. I am going to move out in two weeks." Rusty muttered.

"I know, Rusty. But you also know I am always going to worry about you. That's what mothers do."

"I know mom. I love you. But I need to do this. And I´m glad that you have Andy." Sharon`s face lit up at his thoughtfulness and that he obviously worried about her as much as she did. Also he seemed to have finally accepted Andy as a fixed part in Sharon's life.

"Yes, I do. But I am still going to miss you so much. At least it's just 20 minutes away from the condo." Sharon said. "You know, you can come here anytime you want. I love you so much."

"Yes, I know. Okay, mom, gotta go. Have a nice day with Andy." Rusty grabbed his car keys.

"Thank you, Rusty. You too. Greet Gus from me, will you?"

"Yeah, bye mom." As Rusty opened the door, Andy was about to knock. They greeted each other and Rusty left the condo with a final wave to his mother.

"Hey, beautiful." Andy went to the kitchen and put his arms around Sharon.

"Hey Andy. Do you want to have breakfast with me?" Sharon asked. "Rusty made it. Go sit down, I`ll just get the coffee."

Andy sat down at the table while Sharon got some things from the kitchen. As she sat down at the table, Andy saw the hurtful expression in her eyes she tried to hide. She couldn't keep her feelings from him, even with her armor on. Her eyes held the truth although she tried to hide it from the outer world.

"Sharon, sweetheart, is it because of Rusty?" He could see the answer reflected on her face. She nodded. _How does he always know?_ It frightened her that he could read her so well, but on the other hand it just showed the trust and intimacy they were sharing.

"He is grown, Sharon. I know it's frightening to let him go and I know you worry. That's what mothers do." He stood up, went around the table and slung his arms around her, trying to comfort her. Sharon buried her face in the crook of his neck and breathed in the scent of his aftershave. It might be one of her favorite smells. It promised safeness, protection and love. _Love._ She knew she loved him. She also knew he loved her. She could see it in the way he looked at her, feel it in the way he comforted her, held her and spoke only to her. Sometimes she could even sense some protectiveness he seemed to have over her. _Maybe it was the right time to tell him,_ she thought. As Andy looks at her and wondered where she went in her thoughts, he realized that this was probably the right moment to declare his love for her. She was the love of his life. Suddenly the spell was broken by the ringing of a cell phone.

Both, Andy and Sharon, groaned, looked into each other's eyes and let go from their embrace. It was Sharon's. She picked up, "Captain Raydor."

"Captain? We have a victim, a young girl near Sunset Boulevard." Lieutenant Provenza stated.

"Oh", Sharon said with a lump in her throat, "do you need me to come to the scene?"

"No Captain. Kendall is also done here. Her body will be with Morales soon. We got it covered here."

"Thank you, Lieutenant. I will tell Andy. We will be in the office in about two hours, after we paid Doctor Morales a visit." Provenza grinned as he knew very well that he had just interrupted a date between his best friend and girlfriend.

"They found a body of a young girl on Sunset. We have to go to work Andy. I am sorry. I really looked forward to spend the whole day with you. Rain check?"

"Of course. Rain check! Don`t worry about it, Sharon. It's not your fault. Should we take my car to the morgue and then the office? Or do you want me to go to the morgue with somebody else." Andy said sympatheticly and a little worried. Cases with children always got to her most. She smiled at him; he was always so concerned about her well being.

"No, that's alright Andy. I need to know what we are dealing with. But thank you." She added with another smile.

"Okay, you are going to change, I guess. Even if I really like the dress and the effort you made. You look beautiful." He took in her whole appearance, his glance wandered up and down her body. Sharon blushed at his obvious interest and peering gaze. She still felt uncomfortable when he looked at her that way. But on the other hand she liked it very much.

"And I will wait downstairs for you. At the car. I got other clothes there I can change into." Andy finished.

"I'll be ready in a minute Andy. You can wait up here if you want." With that she turned around on her heel and went to her bedroom to get changed into something more work appropriate.

-Tbc-

* * *

Thank you so much for reading. Hope you like it. I would be happy about reviews.


	2. Chapter 2

Hello, everyone. So this is the second chapter of my story. You maybe have noticed that I am not a native English speaker, so indulge me, please. I am not sure where this story is heading, so I might need some time to get some new inspirations. I am always open for suggestions. I have a few ideas but i cant really put them into words. So this story is mostly an experiment. I still hope you will enjoy it.

Disclaimer: I dont own any of the characters or Major Crimes, except from the idea of this story and the new characters I added.

* * *

 **Chapter 2: Helen Doe**

As they drove to the morgue Sharon wondered why Provenza hadn't told her any more facts about their victim.

After a 30 minute drive, they entered the morgue and found Morales examining the body of a very young woman. In fact, Sharon noted that this was the body of a girl in her late teens. They were greeted by Mike Tao, who was already looking at some evidence. He showed them a bracelet that Morales obviously had removed from her wrist.

"That's the only thing we have to identify her – and it's just the first name – it says _Helen_. Might be her name, or it might not," Morales said, "She is about 17 or 18 years old, I guess. I need a little bit more time to tell you her exact age. Her body shows signs of sexual and physical abuse. From that and the location where her body was found I would say, she might be a young prostitute. What irritates me are her clothes, her bracelet and everything else that does not really confirm this assumption. Something is out of place here."

Sharon looked at the body of the young woman, but corrected herself, of the _child._ _Cause that's what she is. An innocent young girl, which definitely did not deserve this outcome._ Her thoughts turned to Rusty. As she had to suppress a sob, she felt Andy's hand touching her wrist.

"Excuse me, gentleman. I need to step out for a minute." Andy followed her out the door, waited for her to turn around to him and laid his around her. She didn't want to show her distress, but here in Andy's arms she felt free to let go. Silent tears fell down her cheeks as Andy held her even tighter. He massaged her back and her cry.

"I'm sorry Andy. It's too much for today. Rusty will be gone in two weeks and...," she began rambling, "This girl is so young Andy. Everything about her reminds me of my kids in some way. She seems to have a similar past as Rusty has and her hair is the same color as Emily's had when she was her age and … Oh god, I'm sorry."

"Shhh. Sharon. Everything will be alright. I know what you mean. Every time we see a kid that was so young and died before us, it seems unnatural and wrong. And it also reminds us of our own mortality. But we recognize how lucky we are to still be alive and that our kids are happy and healthy and I am thankful for that every day. I am happy and very lucky to have found you. We can't change what happened to her but we will find out who did this to her," Andy said.

"Even if we find her murderer Andy, we will probably never find the people causing her so much pain beforehand," Sharon sighed.

"We are no magicians, but we will do whatever it takes to do her justice. She reminds me a little of Mariana, or rather of her case." Andy pondered.

"Yeah, that's maybe it. Sorry Andy," Sharon apologized, "for losing it. I don't know why I did this."

"Sharon. You are only human. You need to let it out sometimes. Just like all of us. I am affected by it, too. If this helps you." He said with his lopsided cheeky smile, that she loved so much. Sharon could not shake off the thought that something about this girl was different. She couldn't know that Andy had the same strange feeling at this very moment. The girl somehow reminded him about someone. And this someone was not Mariana, but he could not really fathom what bothered him. At this moment Lieutenant Tao came out of the door of the morgue and together the left for the office.

* * *

When the three of them arrived at Major Crimes division the others were already back from the scene. The Captain went straight to her office and closed the door for some privacy. The team looked at Andy with a questioning glance, but he just shook his head and sat at his desk in silence.

"Just continue your work, people. Let's give the Captain a moment," Provenza ordered.

After ten minutes Raydor's office door opened again and she stepped out, fully composed again as Andy noticed.

"I am sorry I've let you wait," she sighed, "What do we have?"

After an awkward moment of silence, Provenza started with his statement from the crime scene. "The young woman's body was found this morning behind a dumpster on a side road of Sunset Strip by a dog and its owner. It seems like she was hurriedly dumped there and nobody even tried to hide her properly. After questioning the dog owner we know that he didn't move nor touched her body and immediately called the police. So if Morales can find some DNA samples somewhere it's probably the one of the murderer. At the scene Kendall said she was definitely killed somewhere else and had just been hidden there. She has been dead for probably 10 hours. But he couldn't verify that and told us to wait for Morales report. Tao?"

Every team member turned their head to Mike. "Yes, Morales confirmed the time of death and everything else we just heard. He did not find any documents to find out the identity of our victim, but he did find a bracelet on her left wrist, made of gold by the way, that had engraved the name _Helen_ and in addition also a date of birth. June 22, 1999. If it's really hers, that would make her 16. But apart from her first name she is a Jane Doe till now. Doctor Morales also said that she was brutally raped right before she died. Probably more than once and also by more than one person. He also found wounds and some broken bones and fractures that already healed again, but maybe show that she has been physically abused a lot. She could be a prostitute but for her clothes, the bracelet and some odd feeling, I don't actually believe that. And Morales shared this suspicion."

"I do, too, Lieutenant. Thank you," Sharon agreed, "Okay. Amy, Mike, Buzz, I need you to look into the missing people reports and tell me if you can find a girl that fits her description. Maybe she isn't a Jane Doe, or in this case _Helen Doe,_ after all. Ask Doctor Morales for a photograph of her face after he is finished with examining and preparing her," she turned to her first in command. "Lieutenant Provenza, can you go and check with the witness again, ask him if he can remember anything else? Julio, Andy. Could you take a look on old cases that may show similarities to this one and after that maybe go to Sunset and look if someone remembers her. We maybe get the information if she is in fact a prostitute or not, as Mike says. Thank you." With a reassuring smile she ended her statement.

"Okay people. You have heard the Captain. Let's get back to work."

* * *

At 4 pm Sharon came out of her office. _This clearly wasn't her day_ , Andy stated. She didn't look very well, not that she didn't look as beautiful as ever, but he wished he could take away the sadness that clouded her beautiful green orbs and the exhaustion that was reflected in her posture.

"What do we got?," she said as she approached them. When she looked at them, her eyes locked with Andy's for a second. She nodded at him in reassurance and smiled a little.

"Captain?", Julio spoke up, "nobody on Sunset Boulevard remembered her face or her name. So the Lieutenant and I looked at some other places where we could find prostitutes. They weren't really cooperative but they also confirmed our assumption. She wasn't a prostitute. Not in the normal sense anyway."

Sharon nodded in agreement and with a quizzical look she turned to Amy. "Captain," Detective Sykes said, "we haven't found any missing people reports that would fit her profile. We wanted to continue to look at older cases though."

"Okay, maybe her first name and the date of birth in combination might help finding her, if it is really her bracelet. But it might be worth looking at, Lieutenant – anything else?" Sharon asked.

"No Captain, nothing else. The witness hadn't seen anything nor has he recognized something strange. But Morales called again," Provenza stated. Sharon looked at him intensely. "He hasn't found any other DNA on her body that could be of a possible murder suspect. Her body was squeamishly cleaned. But Morales found a familiar DNA in the card file, which could belong to a relative. It belongs to another young woman, victim of a crime, but it's apparently from a case years prior to this event. This woman's name was Beatriz Hopkins. Apparently she was murdered by her boyfriend. And, now that's interesting. They had a child together. So maybe that is our victim? It would be a possibility." His eyes turned to his Captain as he heard her inhaling sharply.

"Excuse me, Lieutenant. What was the woman's name?" Sharon asked with a horrified look in her eyes. It seemed as she hoped the name to be different as Provenza repeated it.

"Ehm, its Beatriz Hopkins, ma`am. She was just 24 years old. Her baby was born only 6 months prior to the incident. She…" Provenza stopped immediately when he saw all color vanishing from his Captain´s face. She looked as she was about to faint.

"Captain," Sykes asked, "are you alright?" Sharon just shook her head lightly. She tried to get back her composure, failed miserably, so she turned around and rushed into her office. "Sharon?," Andy followed her hastily into her office and closed the door behind him, after he gave the division an apologizing look.

Turning to Sharon's desk he saw her sitting at her chair, slumped and with her head in her hands. "Sharon? Sweetheart? What is it? Do you know her from somewhere?" He got down on his knees in front of her, with a groan of pain, and tried to remove her hands from her face. "Hey?" When she tried to look down, he gently cupped her chin. Andy lifted her face towards him and searched her eyes. Instead of their normal green moss color they were almost completely dark, something he has never seen before in her eyes. _There was something seriously going wrong._ Next to the look of pain there was something he didn't usually connect with her, this strong and always composed woman. I was a look of despair, distress or almost panic.

"Sharon? Talk to me, please." She had a big lump in her throat; she nearly choked as she tried to start talking.

"Beatriz Hopkins is my sister, Andy," she forced out, "you know she left home when she was only 18. She has never had a good relationship with our parents and I guess there was a man my parents didn't approve of. I have asked them so many times what really happened but they wouldn't tell me. I tried to get in contact with Beatriz several times. Apparently she didn't want to. I've never understood why, though. We actually had a very good relationship as children. There was just this big age difference between us. I am sixteen years older than her. And for most of her childhood and teen years I was away at college or the police academy. Maybe that's the reason she never wanted to talk to me after she ran away. Or a misunderstanding. That is also the reason my relationship with my parents is so complicated. Oh my god, Andy. I didn't even know she had a baby. Of course, I heard that she was, um, killed by her boyfriend, I was so devastated and sad that I couldn't even tell her and show her how much I loved and missed her. Her second name was Emily; I named my baby girl after her and Andy…," her eyes widened in realization, "her own baby has never even met its own beautiful and loving mother. Oh god, I don't even know if it was a girl or a boy."

"Shhh, Sharon," Andy tried to calm her down. He waited for her to look him in the eyes.

"It was a girl, Sharon. So it's quite possible the victim is your sister's daughter." He stopped as Sharon continued rambling.

"I wasn't there for her. I couldn't even do that. The most precious thing for her in the world. And I couldn't protect her. I didn't even know of her existence, even though I read every case file and report about her that existed. Now I know why she looked so familiar. Oh, Andy. I wasn't there for her and she…"

"Shhh, Sharon. Come here. You are trembling." Andy wanted to kiss her, hug her, make her feel alright and take away all that pain from her. "I am so sorry, honey. I wish I could do something to make you feel a little better. I am here, whenever you need me." He tried to find some soothing words to calm her down. It was not all news to him. He knew that her sister died when she was very young, but beside from that information Sharon avoided, no she refused to talk about her sister of this issue. But here it was. She was opening up to him about something so important to her, that caused her so much pain. It was hidden away in the depth of her heart for a very long time.

"Come on. I'll bring you home, Sharon. We can talk there if it helps you to let it all out or do whatever you'd like, sweetheart. I'm not going to leave you alone. I'll stay right with you, if that's what you want." Sharon didn't even protest. That's when he realized she was really at the end of her strength.

"Come on. I'll get my things and we can get going. I tell the team that we are leaving. They will understand. We can't do anything right now anyway. It's Sunday afternoon." Andy was really worried at the lack of response and resistance. That's what really concerned him. She has never lost her composure, not even with the Stroh situation nor when Rusty ran away.

"Sharon sit down. I am going to pack your things." She just nodded.

He got her bag, put everything in it, went out of her private office to pack his own things and was back again after only one minute. Sharon didn't seem to realize what was going on around her, she seemed to be in her own world. He reached out for her hand. "Come on, I'll get you home."

"Thank you, Andy. I'm a mess. I'm sorry." Sharon said.

"Shush, sweetheart. You don't have to apologize. And you are definitely not a mess; not on the outside anyway. You look as beautiful as ever." She didn't comment on that nor did she blush as she would usually. In fact she didn't seem to have heard anything he had said. He sighed quietly and maneuvered her out the door. Andy had his arm laid around Sharon's waist to support her while they walked out of her office. He shot an apologizing look to the others and signed that he would call them. Sharon didn't even once look up and just mumbled a _good night._

The team returned her _good night_ but nobody dared to ask or say anything else.

-Tbc-

* * *

I hope you liked it. Like I said, the posting of a new chapter will take some time, cause of my lack of inspiration. Thank you for reading.


	3. Chapter 3

Hey guys, it took a little longer than I wanted it to. I had a writers block. This chapter is really small, but it is kinda about Shandy. In the next chapters I will concentrate a little more on the case, cause it is really important to me. And I don't really know how to proceed in my Shandy story.

Thank you for following. I really appreciate it.

* * *

 **Chapter 3: Lonely Mile  
**

Sharon didn't argue with him when he took her car keys, helped her sitting on the passenger side and sat down on the driver's side. During the drive home she looked passively out the window but didn't seem to look at anything at all. Andy drove to her usual parking spot, got out of the car and opened her door. Her eyes told him everything he had to know. The look of sadness and despair didn't seem to have vanished at all. No, it even had increased. He had never seen this panic in her beautiful eyes before. So Andy just opened his arms and she fled into his embrace searching for comfort and buried her face in his neck. He kissed her forehead and caressed her back. Andy felt a little helpless while she cried bitterly.

"Sharon, come on. Let's go to your condo. I'll get you into your bed, okay? I guess, you don't want to eat anything."

Sharon shook her head. "Okay. But you can't do anything right now. The guys will find out her identity. And Sharon?" He waited till she looked at his face and he knew he had her attention and he could see the forlornness in her red rimmed, but still the most beautiful, eyes. "You know that, if she is really your niece, you can't participate in this case." She nodded impassively.

After he had gotten their things out and the car locked, Andy laid his arm around her waist and lead her to the elevator. When they arrived at the door of her condo Andy searched for the keys and unlocked the door to Sharon's closed the door behind them, laid down their things and asked Sharon if she wanted some tea. She declined, turned around and walked to her bedroom without saying another word. Defeated and exhausted Andy sat on a chair at her dining table and buried his head in his hands. He didn't know how to help her and that fact made him beyond was their first crisis, if he could call it as that; it was more of a disaster. And he didn't know what to do. What to say to her. It broke his heart to see his beautiful woman, the love of his life, in this condition of shock and stupor. This impassiveness; that was not like her.

But what was a normal or right reaction in this case. There was none, Andy stated.

He sat there contemplating about what to do now and while he waited for something to happen an eternity seemed to got up again; he just couldn't sit calm while his girlfriend was upset and probably crying her eyes out in the other room. He paced through her dining room as he wondered if he should just follow her to her bedroom, and ignore her silent plead not to do so, so that he could comfort her as his heard told him to. Or should he just wait for her to come to him. _To wait, like he always did. But it seemed to be the right thing to do. To let Sharon decide and wait for her to come forward. To make the first move._ While he was still pondering on what would be best for her at this moment, Andy decided to make some tea first and let her have a minute to herself. As he picked some peppermint tea for both of them, he heard Sharon's steps behind him slowly walking into the kitchen.

"I am sorry, Andy." But Andy interrupted her as he turned around.

"Hey, Sharon. You don't have to apologize or anything. You're allowed to react in any way you want at this moment. You are only human, Sharon. You can be that with me. I'm here. I'm not going anywhere. I'll stay with you, as long as you'll have me." While he told her that, he stepped closer to her and cradled her cheeks with both of his hands, so that she had to look at him. And so she knew how serious he was. He contemplated if this was the right moment to confess his love for her. But apparently there is no right time to declare his love.

"Andy?" Sharon said while she covered her face with her hand like she was embarrassed. Andy sensed her discomfort. "What will the team think of me. I totally screwed up today. I completely lost my mind. They will think I'm crazy…" Once again Andy interrupted her rambling.

"Sharon, listen to me. They don't care. They love you. They'll understand. You are family. You're not alone, Shar." Andy took a deep breath.

"I love you, Sharon." Andy looked a little uncertain down into her green orbs. Sharon could sense his insecurity. _He was so sweet in that matter. She loved him too. Very much. It made her happy. He made her happy. But at the same time she was afraid to lose him and specially lose herself in him. To be left alone once again. To risk everything she had built. It was the same soliloquy she had this morning. And almost every day since she Andy started to date. But he just told her he would never leave. It was time to open up to him fully. She trusted him already. With all her heart._ She looked up again into his eyes and blushed. And for the first time since she say the body of Beatrize's daughter a small smile formed on her lips. She nodded to assure him that she appreciated everything he did for her and had told her and as a sign that she loved him back. She couldn't say the words just yet. Not at this moment of sadness and despair.

Instead of that she asked him to stay with her. Andy was surprised. He returned her smile. "Of course, my love. Anything you want."

"Well, then I'll take that tea you prepared, please." Sharon sipped the tea in silence while his fingers combed lightly through her hair as they sat on the couch. _Though this day had been horrible, the beginning and end had been wonderful. Because they were together. Because they loved each other and had finally admitted it._

As they were finished with their tea Andy took both of their mugs, got up and put them into the dishwasher just as he got used to when he stayed at her place for the time of his recovery. Sharon followed him and as she stood behind him she hugged him from behind. He turned in her arms and returned her embrace just as tight. "Everything is going to be okay." He didn't know how often he had already said this but he needed to make sure that she understood and believed him.

"Yeah." She didn't seem convinced and he could still sense this unbelievable sadness that clouded over her. "But I need you with me on that, Andy. I don't know what to do next and what to expect. So I need you to put some clarity in this. And I need you here at the end of the day, just holding me. Just like what you are doing right now. I..." She paused and took a deep breath.

"I love you. And I want you here with me every day. If that's possible. And don't ever think that I don't want you to or that you don't deserve this, Andy. Because you do." Andy seemed to have heard just one thing. _She loved him. And she wanted him to stay. For the rest of their lives._ In spite of this ugly day, he was just the happiest man at this moment. With his love in his arms.

"Let's go to bed. We are both tired and exhausted." Sharon offered Andy her hand and led him to her bedroom. They both undressed silently, they were too exhausted to really acknowledge that this was their first time they would spent the night in one bed together. Still Andy looked at her. His beautiful girlfriend. But even he was too tired to really think about anything more than sleeping in this bed. He asked her which side of the bed she took normally.

"I don't care. I got used to sleeping in the middle. So… Take whichever side you like."

Andy laid under the covers and waited for her to return from the bathroom. He lifted the covers and padded the spot beside him. She smiled lightly and got in next to him. When she had laid down, he encircled her waist with his arm and drew her closer to him. He nuzzled his face in her hair and kissed the top of her head. "Goodnight, sweetheart. I love you." They would need some time to get used to this open endearment and declaration of love. But it still warmed both of their hearts.

"I love you, too, Andy. Goodnight."

"Sweet dreams, beautiful." Andy said as he drew her even closer, as close to him as possible. The next weeks would be hard on them. Of that they were both sure. But they would overcome it, together.

-Tbc-

* * *

Thank you so much for reading.


	4. Chapter 4

Hey guys! I am very sorry for the delay, but I have a lot of stress at work recently and still a writer`s block. So this is the new chapter, just some Sharon and Andy and a little bit about the case. The next chapters will focus more on the case, however. I would like to thank everyone who has reviewed, followed and favourited - it means a lot to me. :)

* * *

 **Chapter 4: Dark Angel  
**

Sharon woke up with a smile on her face. She felt Andy's arm around her waist and his deep breaths in the crook of her neck. She lay in Andy's arms which was one of the best feelings ever. As he held her she felt secure and cared about and of course loved. All of this reminded her of the dream that she had yesterday. This time it was reality. But with the beautiful thoughts of yesterday morning also came the hurtful ones. The old wounds from the loss of her sister had been ripped open again, every memory carefully hidden in her heart even under all painful memories of her and Jack. When she squirmed in his arms to face him, Sharon saw Andy wide awake and looking at her lovingly. She felt slightly better as she looked into his chocolate brown eyes which she loved so much. He smiled at her.

"Good Morning, beautiful. How did you sleep?"

"Good Morning, Andy." Sharon said. "It was okay. I definitely got more sleep with you by my side." She smiled at him sadly. Andy's face lit up as he listened to her words.

"It sure was one of the best nights and sleeps I´ve ever had." Andy said with a mischievous smirk and Sharon's smile grew wider.

"Are you up for some breakfast, sweetheart? I could make something while you are getting ready. I assume I can't persuade to take today off."

"Your assumption is right. I have to get to the office and I have to know if Doctor Morales can confirm her… hmh… identity. And if the team found some background info on her." Sharon sighed. " I need to apologize to them. For just leaving without a word. And for freaking out. That was not professional at all." Sharon said, but Andy interrupted her.

"Hey, Sharon. I already told you yesterday. The team doesn't need an explanation. They understand. It's your family, Sharon. So it affects all of us and we can all relate." He gave her a reassuring smile. "Should I call Provenza and ask if they found something about her? Or if they have any leads?"

"Sure, that would be lovely. Thank you, Andy."

"Anything for you, my love," Andy said. He got up, but not before pressing his lips on hers for a light kiss. She returned it. _She felt more relaxed with him around. Not that scared and worried. He shared a little bit of that burden with her. Just that she could open up to Andy, made her feel better already. Not good. No. She was far from that right now._ _Somebody hurt her by taking someone from her she hadn't even known. But the thought of her, Helen, Sharon reminded herself, down there, in the cold morgue, alone. Again. She was a kid, she reminded her of all of her three children like every kid did. Every case with a child was hard. But this one especially. Her sister´s daughter. Her baby sister´s little girl. The memories of Beatriz and all the hurt and misunderstanding between them, rising up again. Rear rushing through her body. The feeling of guilt and sadness. She felt a new lump building in her throat and her eyes burning up._

Andy felt her getting tense, so her just held her close and massaged her scalp, trying to relax her again. "Do you want to take a shower now or later?," Andy asked. Sharon let out a deep sigh.

"I'm going to take it now. Would you be so kind and make me some peppermint tea? I don't think coffee will ease my nerves. Ah, and could you make this phone call? I would really appreciate that." Andy pressed a kiss to her hair.

"Of course, Sharon. If you need me, just call for me. You know I'm here for you. I love you," He whispered in her ear. He wasn't sure if it was okay with Sharon if he said it to her again. But his self-consciousness and uncertainty vanished as she looked into his eyes and said with a steady voice. "I know, Andy. I love you too."

While Sharon was in the bathroom, getting ready for the day, Andy put on some new clothes he had brought with him in his duffle bag. As he left Sharon's bedroom a smile formed on his lips. _Is that how it´s going to be from now on? When she is ready to take that step of moving in together. Oh god, I hope so._ _He was happy. Finally they were where he always wanted to be. With two children he is proud of and loves very much, even two grandchildren. And finally also with the love of his life. But at the same moment that thought pains him. Sharon had to go through so much pain. Jack. And of course her sister leaving and dying. And now this. He wished he could figure out a way to help her. But maybe the best way to help Sharon through this would be finding the one responsible for killing her and doing Helen justice. It would be hard to keep Sharon away from the case though. Even Rulebook herself could have some problems with keeping professional with this one, but god, he could definitely relate to that._ Andy thought while preparing tea, some toast and fruit for Sharon. Sighing and inhaling deeply he prepared himself for the obviously hard and nerve-racking days ahead of them. _His first priority was to keep Sharon calm and comfort her as well as he could. And secondly, he wanted this creep who did this to the girl and caused his lovingly Sharon pain in between, of the streets and locked up for the rest of his life._

He grabbed his cell phone from the counter and speed dialed Provenza. "Provenza," the Lieutenant on the other end of the line grunted.

"Good morning to you, too, old grumpy head."

"Well Flynn, unlike you, I didn't have a nice good overnight sleep at the Captain`s." Provenza said.

"Hey, don't you talk about her like that. And you don't have to wrack your brain about me spending time with Sharon. Better use it for something more useful."

"Well we could make out the orphanage she was placed into after her mother died. And we found out which school she went to. But we are still waiting on the end results of Morales's DNA-Test, but I would say it's pretty likely that it's her sister`s child. How is Sharon, anyway?"

"She is not feeling well. But that's hardly surprising. I think she still hopes it's just a mistake. But she knows, deep down she knows. And it pains her that she didn't even know about her. Another way to disappoint her dead sister in her eyes or something. We haven't talked much about it yesterday. So I don't really know a lot about it. Maybe Sharon is up to talk about it when we are in the murder room in an hour."

"Okay. We have some other things, but nothing major. And Sykes and Sanchez are tracking down people who knew her and could probably tell us something about her. At least I hope so. In our all and especially the Captain's interest. Tell her I'm sorry about her niece, will ya?"

"Whoa Provenza, do you really show sympathy for the Captain?" Andy asked with a smirk on his face.

"Shut it, Flynn. I'm just worried about the atmosphere in our division. And I don't want to get stuck with all the paperwork. That's your girlfriend's job." Provenza grumbled.

"Hey, shut up. Just admit that you like her and worry about her. That's no crime. Provenza?," Andy asked, but the Lieutenant had already finished the phone call.

"Asshole!," Andy said silently to himself.

"Are you talking about Provenza?," Sharon asked behind him. Andy turned around startled.

"God Sharon, you scared me. I didn't hear you coming in." Sharon looked at him apologetically. "Anyway, here is your tea and something for you to eat." He slid the plate with some fruit over to her. "Ah, and Provenza asked how you are doing. And well," Andy shuffled nervously with his feet. "He told me they made out the orphanage she lived in and the school she attended. But they are still waiting on Morales for the confirmation of her identity."

Sharon cleared her throat and Andy could see her eyes glistening with unshed tears. "Thank you, Andy. I.. ah. Thanks for making breakfast but I'm really not hungry." She shoved the plate back to him, while grabbing her travel mug with the tea.

"Sharon please," Andy protested. "At least take it with you. You haven't eaten anything since breakfast last morning." Sharon just nodded her head and took a banana with some resentment.

"Okay. Are you ready?," Andy asked her interfering with her thoughts.

"Yeah. Thank you again, Andy. Really, I appreciate the effort and everything you are doing for me." Sharon said, sadly smiling at Andy.

"Sharon, honey. I would do anything for you. To help and support you. I just don't know exactly how. You need to tell me what to do." He said looking at her with sad puppy eyes. She almost had to laugh at his cuteness.

"I will tell you when I know how. I don't actually do right now, Andy. I have the feeling that things are out of control. Especially my emotions. And… well, I just, I.. I need you here with me. As I already said yesterday. You are helping me, Andy. Just with being you," She said with a smile as she placed her hands on his chest and played with his tie. She looked up into his eyes as he brushed a strand of hair out of her face and put it behind her ear. She couldn't possibly know how happy she made him with that comment. He smiled at her.

"Okay, let's go." He grabbed his own mug with one hand, draped his suit jacket over his shoulder and grabbed her hand, after Sharon got her bag and keys. She locked the door and grabbed Andy's hand again as they went to the elevator to get to the parking lot. They held hands during the ride over to the PAB building. Occasionally Andy glanced at Sharon while she looked out of her window to make sure she was alright. He felt her unease more and more as they came closer to the LAPD. He squeezed her hand to assure her that everything would be fine.

* * *

As they arrived at the murder room, Sharon first went to her office to place her bag on her desk. But she immediately returned to the team and looked at them expectantly.

"Well, good morning to you too, Captain," Provenza said sarcastically. Sharon snapped out of her work mode for a moment.

"Oh, I'm sorry Lieutenant," she said apologetically. "Good morning, everyone. I also want to apologize for my behavior yesterday. My reaction was very unprofessional. Thank you, Louie, for supervising and you all for staying here and obviously taking a night shift. That was really not your job and you did it anyway. So… thank you very much." She looked around at her team and took the time to thank everyone personally.

"No Problem, Sharon." Lieutenant Tao spoke first. "We all can relate and understand. We all have family. And you are family, too. So if solving this case is the help we can provide, we do it. I am sorry about your sister, Captain." Sharon could only nod and gave him a sad but thankful smile as her eyes started to fill with tears.

Amy was next as she stepped forward and embraced Sharon in a hug. "I'm so very sorry, Captain. Just tell us if you need anything." Detective Sykes let go of her and stepped away. "Thank you, Amy. Thanks, to all of you."

"Ma`am," was everything Buzz could say as he nodded his head in her direction.

Lieutenant Provenza was next in line. "Yeah, also from me Captain. I mean Sharon. My condolences. Also from Patrice."

"I really appreciate it, Louie," Sharon said.

Julio didn't say anything at all. He probably understood and sympathized best with the pain Sharon was going through. Under the surprised looks of everyone he slung his arms around the petite Captain and held her tight. It surprised her quite the same way as when she had welcomed him back at work with a hug after his gunshot wound.

After they had all expressed their sympathies with their Captain, Provenza demanded to bring Andy and Sharon up to date.

Sharon was thankful to him for keeping the case and work in mind and not to get swallowed by the emotions like she was. _At least one of them had his head back in the business._ "Flynn, has probably already told you that the result of the DNA-Test haven't come back yet. But Morales said, it's just a formality and that he is sure that this is Beatriz's daughter. Captain if I may." Sharon looked at him immediately because it was uncommon for him to be so polite. Provenza continued. "Maybe, you haven't found out about her in your searches on your sister's case, because she has got a different family name than her. Her full name is Helen Lacey. She was first placed in the Sacramento Crisis Nursery in the Capital of California. At the age of nine she was relocated into Maryvale in Los Angeles, who provides intensive mental health services and care for girls, ages 8 to 17. Mostly traumatized by physical, emotional or sexual abuse. Tao is in contact with the head of the orphanage to get some background information on her."

"Sir." Detective Sykes interrupted. "I'm sorry, but Morales just called with the end results from the DNA-test from the lap and they confirmed her identity." Provenza nodded.

"Thank you, Sykes." He turned to the Captain. "I am very sorry, Captain." Sharon struggled with keeping her feelings at bay and to not burst into tears. The others sensed her unease and sadness. _Andy had an inner struggle with himself. He wanted to take his Sharon into his arms, to hold her tight and comfort her as well as he could. But he knew she wouldn't approve. Even in this kind of situation. She had already let her guard down in front of her team too much for her likeness. He could only squeeze her shoulder even tighter, his heart ached for her as he saw the hurt reflected in her green eyes. She looked so fragile and so not like her usual self in Captain mode._

Provenza was the first to speak again. "Sykes and Sanchez are on to find some friends and other people who knew her well. Meanwhile I would suggest you tell us your sister's story, if you don't mind." Provenza tried to encourage her with one of his rare smiles.

"Just take your time, Sharon. Wait until you're ready." Andy said as he gave her shoulder another comforting squeeze. Sharon swallowed before she began to talk in an unsteady voice.

"Well, where do I start with this one? I don't even know if I can help you and provide enough information. I haven't seen her for so long, even before she died… Okay. You all know that Beatriz is my sister. She was several years younger than me, but we had a very good relationship with one another. When I was 20 I went away for college and then the police academy. It broke my heart to leave my family for that, especially my little sister." Sharon breathed in deeply. "But I actually wanted to do something with my life and law school just always had been my dream. But we stood in regular contact, mostly over the phone; she had also been visiting for several times. And I came home as often as I could. When my ex-husband came into my life, the calls and visits at home weren't as frequent anymore, I have to admit. But I lived my own life then and so did they." While the Captain spoke she mostly looked at her fingers as they were the most interesting thing and avoided looking at anyone from her team, especially Andy. She had the feeling that if she looked into his eyes she would break. She continued with a faltering voice. "When Jack Raydor and I got married, Beatriz's and my relationship grew tenser. She didn't approve of him while I couldn't understand her reasons. She also made him responsible for me giving up my dreams to work as a laywer. Turns out she had a better feeling and knowledge of him than I did. Then I was pregnant with my daughter and we got on very well again, for some time. She adored her, I named Emily after my sister." A light smile graced her lips. "But she didn't visit me often enough, still because of my ex-husband. At the age of 18 she ran away from home. I was shocked. I had no idea that their relationship was that bad. I knew they had some trouble with each other. She was so different from me, my parents loved her but had some struggles with educating her. She was always the one getting in trouble and everything had to be about fun and entertainment. I knew they worried about her a lot. And one day I got a call from the police that my sister was missing. My parents hadn't even called me themselves, what had me even more worried. I couldn't understand why they would keep something like that from me. I called them immediately and their dismissive behavior bothered me immensely. I've never found out what really happened. The reason why she ran away. Why my parents haven't contacted me immediately. After that incident my relationship with my parents got worse." Sharon paused. "You know," she turned into a more serious mode, she was almost her true self again. "We have to contact them, ask them, I want to know why! If the knew about her daughter, why they hadn't contacted me. Just…," she started to stammer again.

"Yeah Captain. That's a good idea. Do you want to make that call yourself or should one of us do that?" Lieutenant Tao asked.

"I assume this would be my call to make, Lieutenant. Thank you. I will do that in a minute, after I have finished telling you Bea's and my story." Everybody looked at her expectantly.

"Well, ehm… the only thing to add would be, that I have tried to find her so desperately. The police hadn't found anything, either. I had the odd feeling that my parents weren't really interested in finding her at all. And she ran away at the age of eighteen. Legally my hands were bound. After three yours of looking for her I finally got a call from the police department in San Diego, apparently she got in trouble with the law. Of course I went down to San Diego immediately to support her. I was so eager to meet her again after all this time. But when I arrived she was already gone. The officers told me her bail had already been paid for. They couldn't tell me her address nor had any contact number. The only thing I found out was that she was convicted because of drug possession. So apparently she didn't want to see me or get found. So I was back at point zero again. Just that after this incident I didn't try to find her so eagerly anymore." Sharon swallowed hard.

"So after that, I just waited. But I've never heard from her again until this phone call in the middle of the night from a police station, this time in Chicago. Obviously she had moved around a lot. And well, you know the rest of the story; why they had called me. I flew down there, after leaving my children with my neighbor. I was in shock and heartbroken, I hadn't even fully realized what had happened just yet. But I had to arrange the funeral and everything around it as good as possible. Simultaneously I tried to find out what had really happened. My parents had already arrived before me and helped me as much as possible. We got a long quite well. The information on this case was very rare, as you may have already seen. Yeah, well, all I know is what you have seen in that file. Her boyfriend was the murder and had killed her in the heat of passion, as he stated. She had just turned 24. He was intoxicated when they had fought. A neighbor had called the police about the fighting and loud shouting, which he later gave to protocol. When the officers arrived it had already been too late. They only found her lifeless body. The boyfriend offered no resistance He was shocked of what he had done and was remorseful, to what I have read. That didn't bring her back though. He was convicted for twelve years. After the funeral, which took place back here in LA, Gavin and my parents convinced me to let it go. Let the case go. And to let her go, especially. And to not try and find reasons why everything had happened as it did. I felt guilty for not trying harder to find her, for letting her down."

Sharon Raydor finally looked up from her hands and she blushed as she saw the sympathetically looks the members of her team gave her. Even Provenza looked like he was actually upset about her story. She blushed slightly as an uncomfortable and uneasy feeling rose in her. She just had opened her heart to her team and had let them see her most inner emotions and most private and important story. But as she looked into Andy's eyes she also saw reassurance next to the look of sadness and love. He nodded his head in her direction. _It was okay to break. This was her family._

 **-Tbc-**

* * *

Thank you so much for reading. I truly don't know how to proceed with this story. So it will take me some time to update. I am so sorry. I Hope yo enjoyed reading it and I would be very happy about reviews. I wish you a nice and happy Shandy Sunday. At least here it already is Sunday. ;)


End file.
